Abstract

Venus is the closest to Earth of all the
planets — in distance, size, mass and
composition. But it is a hellish place,
with opaque clouds of sulphuric acid,
crushing atmospheric pressures and
surface temperatures high enough
to melt lead. Not photogenic and
too blistering for conventional
rovers and landers, Venus has
been passed over by the big
missions. Nevertheless, Venus
exploration and the interpretation
of the resulting data have
had their fair share of exciting
moments. It is this history that
physicist Fredric Taylor relates
in his informative primer, The
Scientific Exploration of Venus.